Suggestions for expansion needed

It's going to be 31C (88F) here today so we've both been out early in the garden. It was just a bit of tweaking, watering and checking, a little bit of TLC that generally keeps the garden moving along nicely. The king parrots were there too, arguing and running at the brown doves. LOL

I'm feeling dangerously optimistic today but I've been thinking about this for a while. I'd like to expand my blog in some way but I'm not sure what the next step should be. Maybe a section for tutorials and how-to posts? I'm not even sure if it's possible in this blogger format. I'd be interested in hearing everyone's opinions. If there are any web designers or people with a bit more knowledge than I have, I'd like to know how I could expand what I'm doing without losing the small community feeling I'm trying to foster here.

side bars and tutorials would be good. And for your first suggestion: Do you know how to knit a sweater (jumper) from the top down. There's no sewing to it. I've seen pictures and hear there are patterns, but don't know anyone who can do it.

I like it how it is. I also feel that there is a danger with expansion that you will suffer blog burnout like so many others and it would lose it's joy and then I would miss you like I am missing some of dear blogging friends who have shut down in the last month or so.

I really like the idea of having all the tutorials in one spot so that we can just run down the line looking for what interest us. There are several things I've wondered about -- and after searching, finally found. But sometimes I'm in a hurry and just want a quick reference, and I have dial-up, way out here in the country, so everything seems to take so long... a quick 5 minute question can turn into a one hour search or longer, so then you just don't go there, do you?Someone I sent to your site the other day was wondering what type of soil you have and the ph, etc. She was wondering if you just build on top of existing soil or if you incorporate the native soil... I replied that i haven't had time to go back thru all your post yet, and she said she hadn't either, so if we had that sort of thing at our finger tips it would make life so much easier - especially for us dial-up folks.Things like:

DEAR READERS, PLEASE NOTE:Comments keep blogs going. Without them it feels like no one is reading. That is true of my blog and every other blog available for public viewing.

I know that children read my blog so I always check my links and information to make sure they're family-friendly. I don't publish comments containing any kind of link now because I don't have time to check the links before publishing comments.

WELCOME TO DOWN TO EARTH

Now in my blog's 11th year, I'm still writing about the wonders of a close family and a warm and welcoming home. The subjects are many and varied here and while most of the time I write about simple home life, gardening, knitting and recipes, I also add a sprinkling of my thoughts about ageing, a small black Scottie dog named Gracie, and anything else that rocks my boat. I'm glad you found me.

.

"I think one of the useful things about an interest in nature and in walking and looking is a loss of the self. To completely lose yourself is a great pleasure especially if what you do for a living is put yourself up in some way which is psychically tiring. One of the principal joys of birdwatching is that you are being responsive to the world, you’re just another creature. You are the tool of the world. You are not mastering it, or moulding it to your image or any such piffle, you are reminded of what a pipsqueak you are."